Peter F. Flaherty - Mayor of Pittsburgh

Mayor of Pittsburgh

In 1965, Flaherty led the Democratic Party ticket when he was elected to City Council. Four years later in 1969 he easily won as "Nobody's Boy" against the Democratic Party machine candidate, Judge Harry A. Kramer, in the primary election. In the general election Flaherty beat the Republican, John K. Tabor. Four years later, in the 1973 election, Flaherty was re-elected by winning the Democratic primary and the Republican primary, the latter through write in votes. He was the only mayoral candidate to have achieved this feat in Pittsburgh's history; it would not be achieved again until by incumbent Mayor Luke Ravenstahl in 2009. He first campaigned for Mayor with the promise to return the Mayor's Office to the neighborhoods instead of the "special interests".

Flaherty became immensely popular as he focused on infrastructure instead of the large redevelopment projects which had been pursued over the previous twenty years. He also focused on the tax burden which had been increased every year from 1960 to 1970 by tax increases and the addition of new taxes each year. In his first full year in office he had to deal with a Blue Flu of the Police, a strike by telephone operators and in the beginning of 1971 a general strike of all City of Pittsburgh blue collar employees, including refuse collectors. He made national headlines by using rental trucks and his administrative staff to collect refuse during the strike to comply with a mandamus action by the Democratic machine County Commissioners.

During his seven years as mayor Flaherty reduced the payroll by almost one third, balanced the budget each year without a tax increase or any new taxes, reduced the taxes by two mils, eliminated the wage tax for three years, and left office with a substantial budget surplus and taxes lower than when he took office. He increased the amount of street repaving from less than ten miles in 1969 to more than 100 miles in his last year in office. This was accomplished in part by using City personnel and a City owned asphalt plant instead of continuing to contract out the work. In order to improve refuse collection, Flaherty cancelled the contract for the North Side of the City with Browning Ferris Industries and had the North Side pick up done by City employees under the City's supervision. In reaction to public demand Flaherty organized the first City wide emergency ambulance system using City employees.

Flaherty converted the City Zoo, the Conservatory and a number of fire stations from coal furnaces to gas heat in order to eliminate pollution and operate the systems more cost effectively. Flaherty put in a modern centralized water filtration and pump station system which dramatically increased the efficiency of the Water Department. Flaherty's City management brought accolades from David Rockefeller and Fortune Magazine. However he also was exposed for giving both his brother and brother-in-law city jobs.

Flaherty was featured in a book on City governing called City Money by Terry N. Clark, a Professor at the University of Chicago. Throughout most of his tenure as Mayor Flaherty successfully opposed the Early Action Program, a huge project which included a rubber tired transit vehicle called Skybus.

At the end of his tenure the dispute over this program was resolved by a study performed through the agreement of Flaherty, the County Commissioners, representatives of labor and of City Council. The study recommended the abandonment of Skybus and the use, instead, of steel wheel on steel rail technology. This recommendation was adopted by the County transit agency, Port Authority of Allegheny County. While he was Mayor the City of Pittsburgh through Flaherty's staff negotiated the first collective bargaining agreements in the City's history pursuant to State laws passed in 1968 for Police and Fire and in 1970 for all other employees. Despite the labor strife caused by cutbacks during the first year of his administration, there were only five grievances appealed to arbitration during the remaining six years that he served as Mayor and there were no more work stoppages or interruptions. While Flaherty was Mayor, the City adopted a home rule charter which he supported. In addition, the law was changed so that the Members of the Pittsburgh School District Board of Directors were elected instead of being appointed.